The present invention relates to the electrolytic carboxylation and dimerization of olefinic nitriles, esters and amides.
Carboxylic esters and derivatives are well known industrial chemicals, having such diverse uses as plasticizers, monomers for the preparation of polyesters by interaction with glycols, etc. It has previously been known that some types of unsaturated compounds are subject to reduction at the cathode and dimerization. It has also been known that when relatively stable reduction intermediates are obtained because of substituents on the olefinic group, as in the case of benzalacetone, the intermediates will react with carbon dioxide to form carboxyl compounds; (see Wawzonek et al. J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol III, pages 324 to 328, (1964). It has also been known that acrylonitrile can be dicarboxylated, although apparently in very poor yield, by electrolysis under specified conditions in dimethyl formamide., see Tsutsumi et al, Electrochemical Carboxylation of Olefins, abstract of paper presented at Division of Petroleum Chemistry, American Chemical Society, Chicago Meeting, September 13-18, 1970.